As much as anything, the bumper crop marked a rebound from the two previous years, both short and relatively cold, and a nearly 20 percent lift from last year. (The total grape crush of 4.38 million tons, which includes table and raisin varieties, was up about 13 percent.) While for winemakers, 2010 and 2011 marked moments of decision in terms of ripeness, and wine styles, they were years of frustration for growers — short, tough crops. As grape brokers like the Ciatti Co. notes, the 2012 helps bring the market back into balance after several lean years. Growers feel flush. Wineries have the grapes they need — and maybe a bit extra as the economy slogs back.

Aside from a flush feeling in the vineyard, what did 2012 bring? In many ways, more of the same: another record delivery of Chardonnay (up more than 30 percent), a huge jump for Pinot Noir (up 45 percent), Sauvignon Blanc (up 43 percent) and Cabernet Sauvignon (nearly 30 percent) — in other words, California going large on what it knows best.

Amid the abundant yields — more grapes on the vine — there’s perhaps a more poignant tale about the shifting geography of California wine. The boom in plantings throughout the San Joaquin Valley, most particularly in Lodi, has been continuing for several years. Last year’s crop reflected just where much of the wine on the shelf will be coming from in future years: inland California.

Take Chardonnay, for instance. Aside from Sonoma, its big engines were Monterey — its massive vineyards an ever-stronger engine for white wine — but more particularly Lodi, where more was grown (over 155,000 tons, nearly twice as much as Sonoma’s record haul) than anywhere else in California. The San Joaquin is the new home for a grape whose reputation was built on the coast.

With bumper crops near the coast — Sonoma was up nearly 60 percent, Napa up near 48.6 percent — the San Joaquin might be stagnating in its growth; grape district 13, which includes the central San Joaquin, was up less than 6 percent, probably more than anything a sign that vineyards are near capacity.

Lodi is one big growth spot, up 34 percent (about equal to 2009). As Turrentine Brokerage’s Erica Moyer noted, “demand for ‘red blends,’ has resulted in the reset of Lodi Zinfandel” for use in red wine, rather than white Zin, making it a commodity in demand.

The small printIn some ways, the interesting part of the crush report is around the edges, seeing what bit players are making inroads. (Because 2011 was so drastically reduced in yield, I considered a three-year spread.)

Let’s start with whites. Two grapes in particular have showed big movement over a three-year spread. The Portuguese grape Verdelho was up to nearly 1,653 tons, more than 50 percent up from 2009. That’s more grown than Roussanne. Gruner Veltliner, the Austrian grape, was up to 555 tons, more than triple its 2009 plantings. These are the sort of quick-growth numbers that once drove Pinot Grigio; neither is nearly on that trajectory, but they’re varieties to be taken seriously.

Grenache Blanc remains on a boom, up to 1,153 tons — nearly 90 percent more than in 2009. Albarino jumped another 44 percent, to 1,375 tons. And the obscure of the obscure, the Friulian grape Ribolla Gialla, more than doubled last year to 26.3 tons, nearly triple its production 3 years ago. (There’s some new vines in Sonoma accounting for that.)

As for reds, some curious contenders. Nebbiolo is up more than 40 percent, to 536 tons. Malbec more than doubled in the past year, a clear sign of new plantings — and California’s puzzling desire to chase Argentina down that particular rabbit hole.

A couple other notches on the needle. Trousseau, while still a blip (99.6 tons) has more than doubled in the past two years, with five times as much crushed as in 2009. And while Gamay Noir, the grape of Beaujolais, barely budged from 2011 to 2012, it already more than doubled in 2011 from the previous year.

Grenache, meantime, keeps shrinking — down to 65,413 tons, around 10,000 less than three years ago. But given the ever-rising quality of Grenache, that’s likely a sign of its diminishing use in cheap wines.

When the 2012 grape acreage report is released later this year, with its look at vineyards yet to come online, we’ll have a better sense of how the grape landscape is shifting.

Finally, there’s the great parlor game of price-checking. Not only was there a bumper crop, but prices generally were up across the board — a state average of $768.95, versus $637.35 last year.

And always there are the stratospheric outliers. In Napa, one particular transaction of note: 5.2 tons of Cabernet, at $50,000 per ton.

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Jon Bonné is the wine editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, responsible for The Chronicle's wine and spirits coverage as well as the annual Top 100 Wines. He writes about wine, spirits and other libations throughout California and around the world.